Barrel's death
by WhirlOfDestruction
Summary: Yes, you read that right. After an accident, Lock and Shock are left without their third trio member. And nobody quite knows how to deal with it.
1. The plan

**Okay, you are probably wondering 'what the hell'? And to be honest, I'd agree with you. I always wondered what it would be like if the trio got separated in some way. Not that I have any hate against Barrel, on the contrary, he's my 2****nd**** favourite character. I do not own nightmare before Christmas and luckily Barrel doesn't die in that. Please review, I'm exceedingly desperate. **

The plan

The three trick-or-treaters giggled with glee. They were hidden away from sight, near the town hall, behind a large boulder with mould growing all over it. Or it might have been a tree stump. They all looked the same in Halloween town. And this one smelled of fungus. The three didn't really like fungus. If it wasn't candy, snake or spiders, then they generally didn't put it in their mouths. Apart from Barrel, who still hadn't learnt that fungus gave him tummy ache. Lock and Shock DID know this however, and took every opportunity to slip it into his food. But not today. Even though it was always funny. They had a big prank planned.

It involved the wolf man. He was up on the town hall's roof, fixing a busted loudspeaker. On the ground, there was a pile of the old speakers, trashed and in a heap. It looked quite sharp. It was also smoking; which was never a good sign. The mayor and wolf man's best friend the devil were also there, guiding wolf man, saying rather unhelpful things such as 'Left a bit.' 'Be careful' and the amazing advice of 'Don't fall'. Jack Skellington was sitting with Sally by the fountain. They were dating now. Eugh. It made the pranksters sick thinking about it. Jack was occasionally watching the town hall's preparations with mild polite interest. The three pranksters had to stifle their giggles. It was funny watching their struggles. The mayor's face was twisting from sad to happy so much it looked like it was permanently spinning. And the wolf man was carrying the heavy loudspeakers so they obscured his entire torso and face. No wonder they were shouting such obvious things. "Okay dorks, let's go over the plan one last time." instructed Shock. Lock glared at the insult, but said nothing. Barrel just smiled. "We climb up onto the roof…"

"How?" asked Barrel. Shock glowered at him.

"We use the ladder, stupid." Replied Lock smugly, pointing at the rusty ladder fixed onto the town hall's roof. There were several bars missing in it, and looked like it wouldn't support all three of them, even though they were all tiny. Barrel pretended not to notice this. He clutched his lollipop for support. His lollipop understood his struggles.

"And then, we hide behind the other loudspeakers Wolfie HASN'T moved…"

"What if he picks them up?" asked Lock with a taunting expression.

"Well we'll hide behind the ones he HASN'T moved yet…How many times do I have to repeat things?" she snapped, hitting him with her broomstick. Lock slapped her back. Barrel swept in before they started to bicker again.

"So what happens then?" he prompted. Shock stared superiorly at him for asking such a question.

"Then, when he DOES go to pick the speaker up, we STRIKE" she answered, making a swiping movement with her fist. The three laughed.

"And he'll probably land on the Mayor's car or something. After he stops screaming in terror." cackled Shock.

The three grinned. Lock got out his famous plunger, running his hand along it as if was deadly as a gun. In the hands of this trio, any object was deadly. They put on their masks. "Ready?" asked Lock. The other two nodded.

"Let's go!" he laughed, darting off with a mixture of running, crouching and crawling. They hid behind the town hall, peeping out to check no-one saw them. It didn't look like anyone had. Now came the hard part. Getting up the ladder without anyone seeing. It was at the side of the building, and was more than obvious- it was in full view of the town centre. The three looked at each other half nervous, half excited to death. Well, if they weren't already. Wolf man dropped one the speakers on his foot, much to the amusement of devil. Jack smirked slightly. The trio heard a cry of "My speakers!" from the mayor, and they took their opportunity. Lock went first, agilely sweeping onto the ladder and moving up. Shock went next, clambering up. It wasn't easy for her, since her boots were rather pointy and her hat was rather big- not to mention her nose- but she managed it well. Barrel grasped the bottom rung of the ladder, which immediately broke off. He looked at the splintered bit of metal in his hand, and then felt himself being pulled up. He was scared for a second, and felt himself being hoisted up by his neck. Then he realised his fellows had probably carried him to save time. He was slightly grateful, but his feet had nothing to hold onto other than air, and that wasn't a nice feeling.

The three darted behind the remaining speakers. There were only two left to hide behind, andf they were quite close to wolf man already, but they completely obscured them from sight of onlookers. They heard wolf man's grunts as he hoisted the heavy speaker in place. They shut their lips tightly to avoid laughing and giving them away. A small snicker escaped from Barrel. Lock and Shock hit him with the broomstick and plunger to silence him. Barrel yelped a little. The three heard the wolf man stop. Shock put her hand over her mouth in horror. Lock rolled his eyes and glared. Barrel looked terrified.

The wolf man came over. His feet made a big thudding sound. The sound the monster makes before it mauls you to death. "Who's there?" it snarled. "I know your there."

The three stood paralysed. Wolf man came closer.

"Answer me."

The three didn't make a sound. Then wolf man lifted up one of the speakers. Barrel's mind was confused. Should he scare him? But they had been found. Did that mean he would be surprised? He looked to his fellows for help, but they were staring mournfully at the ground. He decided they probably scare wolfie anyway. That's what they were doing right? Right?

Wolf man's arms lifted up one the speakers. Barrel Jumped.

"Arrfrflrlflrlfrllagagabab!" he cried, jumping out like a kid on a sugar rush. The wolf man dodged. Barrel went on dancing away, jumping excitedly, not aware he was close to the edge. The other two, who stood motionless, waiting for their punishment, stood up.

"Barrel!" cried Lock

"No!" cried Shock

Barrel only just heard their shouts. He turned to face them, smiling, but his foot was already over the edge. There was a moment of realisation when he discovered this, and his face twisted into a mask of surprise.

And then he was gone.


	2. The operating room

Doctor Finkelstein's house was unusually crowded. Not many people came in to his house, and he didn't like it. But he supposed it was all in the name of science. Well, medicine if you wanted to put it specifically. But the things Dr. Finkelstein wouldn't do to obtain a body…he shook his head with exasperation. The other people in the room took this as a bad sign. "Is he okay Mr. Finkelstein?" asked Shock hurriedly. "Will he be alright?" asked Lock quickly. The Dr. Glared. "I believe its _DR _Finkelstein to you." He answered. "And I'm not sure." He added.

Dr Finkelstein, Sally, Jack, Lock, Shock, and even jewel, the doctor's second creation were all crowded into the operating room. On the twisting operating table sat Barrel, battered and bruised. That was an understatement. He was unmoving. There were cuts everywhere. He had fallen off the roof, and pummelled onto the heaped pile of debris from the old speakers. They were now stained red. Those speakers had been sharp. They were torn and broken, and the town hall was very tall. Barrel had been just as broken as the old speakers by the time they dragged him out.

Jack felt slightly sick. It wasn't the sight of Barrel that made him upset, but mainly the fact he had been hurt- if jack were to say who was the most innocent, he would say Barrel- Barrel wasn't that innocent, but he always thought if any of them were to change their mischievous ways, Barrel would be the first. But then again, maybe not, since he followed Lock and Shock almost religiously. It was also the haunted expressions on Lock and Shock's faces. They looked lost. They looked scared, staring at Barrel, in this sorry state. And barrel's mouth was slightly open, his lollipop still clutched in his hand. The two drew closer to him, but the Doctor pushed them back a little. Lock and Shock held hands, just like they did when they walked around town. Shock's left hand was twitching, and Jack instantly realised that was probably where Barrel usually was. Sniffles came from them both, who occasionally lifted their hands up as if to reach for him, but dropped them down almost as quickly.

"Can I get anyone a drink?" asked Jewel, without any emotion. Jewel was not the best at social gatherings, having had half of the doctor's brain, and even she realised that maybe a little courtesy was due here. Jack cleared his throat. "Just water, if you please." He replied politely. Sally nodded. "I'll have some to please." Jewel looked over to Lock and Shock, huddled in the corner. They shook their heads. "Stew my dear!" answered the Doctor. At the mention of 'Stew', Lock and Shock looked even more tormented. Lock remembered Barrel's happy face when Oogie made them a bowl of snake and spider stew-how happily he would yelp. Shock remembered how she once dunked the bowl on his head. That was cruel. It had been funny then, but now it was cruel. Jewel walked out.

Jack quietly observed. Part of him wanted to tell them off, but it seemed monstrous to lecture them about safety when Barrel was in this state. Well, he supposed that meant they deserved it even more, but Barrel had never looked so scarily quiet. Sally saw their faces. She walked over to them, and was slightly surprised when they didn't push her away. "Lock, Shock, you mustn't blame yourselves. There's no need to cry."

"We're not crying." answered Lock stubbornly. Sally looked them both in the eyes.

"He's going to be okay." She comforted, putting her hands on their shoulders. They looked at her. "Really?" they asked in unison.

"No." replied the doctor. Everyone snapped their heads up. Lock and Shock's eyes were wide with fear. "I'm afraid there's no hope. None at all." He said, shaking his head.

"He's dead?" asked Shock

"No, I said there's no hope." Answered the doctor irritably.

"Doctor Finkelstein, please." pleaded Jack. "The kids have had a tough time."

The doctor rolled his eyes (not that anyone could see, since they were behind dark glasses)

"Very well jack. Though, there is one tiny thing I could do…" he trailed off.

"What?" asked Lock and Shock eagerly.

"Well…if you give the body to me, I can rebuild it, remake it…"

"Shut up." replied Lock. Shock nodded firmly.

"We're not giving the body to you. You'll mangle him." She snapped

"Even more then he already is?" pried the Doctor.

The two pranksters stood in shock.

"Doctor! That's enough!" replied Sally and Jack.

The doctor shrugged, then wheeled out. Jack and Sally were left in the room. Sally had nothing more to say. She didn't quite know what words of comfort would suffice. It was impossible to imagine Lock, Shock and Barrel without the Barrel. Jack looked like he had something to say, but closed his mouth and walked out with Sally, his hand on her shoulder. With everyone else out of the room, Lock and Shock walked up to their still friend.

"Barrel?" asked Lock steadily

"Can you hear us?" asked Shock, squeezing his hand. He didn't reply. The only sound was a small chatter from outside. They looked out of the window. It was only a slit in the doctor's wall, but you could see a lot. A crowd were gathered at the town hall.

"Shock?" asked Lock slowly, gazing out at the crowd.

"Yeah?"

"Remember when Oogie died?"

"Yes. I do. Jack untied him."

"And then we sewed him back together when Jack went away?"

Shock nodded. "That was fun."

"Well, Dr Finkelstein said…do you think it'll…?"

"No." interrupted Shock. "It wouldn't work with Barrel. Why should we listen to the Doctor? Do you think Barrel would want it?"

Lock hung his head. "I guess not."

The two sat in silence, which they hadn't done for ages, clutching each of Barrel's hands. The only sound was a small machine, which made _pip pip _sounds of Barrel's heartbeat. Then it got faster and faster.

"Barrel?" asked Lock quickly.

"BARREL!" shrieked Shock, rising out of her chair.

"No! No! No!" the two yelled in unison. The heartbeats just got faster. And faster. Until there was barely a space between the beeps. The two were panicking. Then they stopped. The only sound was one continuous beep.

"Barrel?" asked Shock, with tears in her eyes.


	3. Somewhere strange

**three chapter in the same day. That's a record. This chapter is quite short. But scary. **

"Hello?" I called out. I stumbled across the floor. Though, there wasn't a floor- where was I? Why wasn't I at the town? Where were Lock and Shock? Why weren't they here? Did they lose me? Did they not care? Was this a hiding game? I didn't like it. I called for them. I called at the top of my voice. They didn't answer. It was just my echo. I panted. Then I curled up on the ground. I didn't even have my lollipop. Lollipop made everything better.

There was nothing here. Why was there nothing? It was just black. I wasn't sure where the floor began and where the wall started. Why? It seemed like there was no boundaries. Then how come I could walk? How come I could curl up?

Maybe I was at the town hall. Maybe I had fallen down a hole. But surely, if I had fallen down a hall, there would be a sphere of light or something? There wasn't exactly light here, but I could see myself. I could see clearly- but there was only black. Then the voices came.

_Barrel?_

_Can you hear us?_

Lock? Shock? It was their voices. Maybe they above the hole I had fallen down. Wait, what? What if I hadn't fallen down a hole? What if I had just fallen? I screamed for lock and Shock. Shouldn't they help me? They should shouldn't they? They would? I started to cry. Then I screamed.

I CAN HEAR YOU! I CAN HEAR YOU! WAIT FOR ME! HELP!

LOCK! SHOCK! LOOOOOCCCKKKKK! SSHHHOOAAAOAOACCKKKK!

But nothing happened. The voices kept discussing.

_Do you think Barrel would want it?_

_I guess not._

Want what? What did I want? What did I not want? Why couldn't they hear me? I stood up. Then something caught my eye. A tiny bit of light. I started running. I wasn't sure if I could, but directly up above me was a little beam of light. I slowed a little. I was running on thin air. Diagonally. Up the wall. Hehehe. I always said Lock and Shock would drive me up the wall. But wait, didn't they tell me to stay away from the light when It was a dark tunnel? Actually, nope, that was Mr Oogie. And Oogie's dead anyway, what does it matter? He can't challenge me. I decided to run towards it. I ran. My heartbeat got faster. I was getting out. Lock? Shock? I was going to see them again; I was going to see them again! The light got bigger and bigger.

_Barrel?_

_BARREL! _

_No! No! No!_

Why were they screaming? I was almost there. I was almost out. The light was almost blinding. And it was giant. I leaped into it.

_Barrel?_


	4. The tree house

**This is dedicated to everyone who reviewed (thank you :oD) and to Dandelion Oak, who says I can't do serious stuff. **

The tree house was bleak. It looked the same as it always was, with spare ammo and dangerous weapons and all the objects that would probably make you lose a limb. But something was missing. No prizes for guessing what. Or rather, who.

Lock was clutching Barrel's precious lollipop. He would not let it go. He kept staring at it to. It was actually a quite interesting thing. It had several nibble marks. It smelt slightly stale, a kind of sickly sweet smell, but that's because Barrel's spittle had slobbered over most of it. One thing that had puzzled them all for centuries is how it had survived for all the years. He ate other candy, but Barrel would always go back to this certain lollipop. Teeth marks aside, it had survived for a very long time. Lock licked it. It tasted exactly the same as it smelt. Except solid.

"Put that stupid thing away will you?" snapped Shock, ripping the broken twigs from her broomstick. "Why should I?" snapped Lock back, clutching the lollipop close. "Throw it out. Now." Ordered Shock. "Never." "Then give it back to him!" she screamed at the top of her voice. She ran out, hands over her face, wailing horribly. Lock stood in a stunned silence. Should he bother with it? Should he follow her advice? Throw it away? No. He decided not to throw it away. But he didn't want to give it to Barrel. Because he's a corpse. Because he couldn't see. He wanted this piece of Barrel forever.

Lock jerked himself away from the thoughts. They made him almost cry. The body in Doctor Finkelstein's room was gone for sure. The two had hugged on to Barrel, and kicked and screamed when Jack tried to drag them away. Lock bit them. Shock punched them. It was all so fast. Sally had dropped her glass, and jack had staggered back. Because it had really happened. Barrel was really, truly, gone. The doctor had acted indifferent. Like it was normal. The two hated him. Barrel probably could've been saved. Finkelstein could have lied so he had a chance to get another experimenting body. Or to spite them. After all, everyone in the town had been their share of prank victims. Finkelstein's one involved a wire (to snap open his head) a stick (to KEEP it open) and acid (to POUR ONTO HIS BRAIN!) he certainly hadn't taken it lightly. That was a lot worse than falling from the town hall roof. Yet Finkelstein had survived his 'accident' without a scratch. Well, he had a sore head, but not a scratch. He probably was still angry. He probably lied. He was an evil man. He was even more evil then Mr Oogie, in a way.

Thinking of Mr Oogie made Lock think of Sandy Claws. Sandy had nearly died because of them, and they had found it fun. But suppose sandy had been eaten, suppose he HAD died at the hands of the Boogie man, would they still find it funny? After all, Jack mentioned a family. Mrs Claus? All of those pathetic elves? They probably would be sad. That thought made Lock feel guilty. Very guilty indeed. The kind of guilty where you wanted to crawl into a hole and hide forever. Because, differences aside, they were the same. They had people who cared. They had responsibilities (sort of) and jobs to give to the world in their holidays. But then again, thinking of Mr Oogie himself, they hadn't been sad when he died. On the contrary, it meant no master or anyone threatening to eat anyone else. No more 'We do our best to please him, and stay on his good side.' It was more 'we do whatever we want, get the heck out of our way'. Until today. It had only been a few hours.

"Someone's already dead today, and it's not even lunchtime." Joked Shock without smiling. Lock glared. "You aren't funny. You're not!" yelled Lock, pushing her out of the way.

"I came to say sorry." She said sincerely, tears pinpricking in her eyes.

Lock shrugged. "Nice delivery, jerk."

And then more awkward silence followed.

"Ya'know, usually at this point Barrel changes the subject." noted Lock, staring around the room as if Barrel would appear. To his deep sadness, he didn't come jumping out on a sugar rush like he usually did, Lollipop clasped in hand, happy grin stretching so far out it might crack his face open. But no. Lock was only left with Shock. Not that that was particularly bad…but…nothing was complete without Barrel. Then, to his slight surprise, Shock leapt into his arms. Not in a romantic way (they were just annoying brats after all) but out of desperation. Tears swept down both their faces. Lock hugged back. Shock blew her nose loudly.

"I'm sorry; I've never expected ANY of this to happen."

"Me neither…"

Lock sighed. He looked out of the window. In the yard was their bath tub. It looked like it was grazing. But it couldn't technically do that, since a) there wasn't any grass and b) it was a ruddy bath tub.

"He used to be the pilot." Remembered Lock.

"Yes. He did. And he showed us how to drive it."

"Yeah, he TRIED. But the taps didn't like us."

They both giggled nervously. They fondly remembered the time when Barrel had dragged them outside, pushed them all in, and tried to teach them how to drive the tub.

_Grasp the taps…_

_Like this?_

_Sorta…wait no!_

_Aahhhhh! Shock, Shock, there's WATER in my eyes!_

_Oh grow up cry baby._

And that's how the afternoon had gone. And then there was also a time when they hung out at the graveyard. They usually hung out at the graveyard, since it was right in front of their tree house. Before, they had tried to resurrect the dead bodies, but then a skeleton had risen and told them to _ssh. _Shock stole the skull of it and pushed its spinal cord back into the ground. And then there was the time they nicked all the hanging men from their tree. It had taken Jack ages to find them all.

_The dead graveyard swept this way and that, a gaggle of tombstones. Deadly nightshade and ivy covered some of the graves, and the little rimmed brick wall had several spiders and insects walking out of it. They hid underneath it, crouching with the bugs. They were used to bugs, and it wasn't rare to find a bug crawling over you whilst you were sleeping back at the tree house. But they were hiding now, waiting for the hanging tree to lumber by on his morning (or evening, no-one could really tell) walk. Nobody glanced in the direction of the tree house. Even if they did, they looked hurriedly away. _

_Okay dorks; let's go over the plan one last time. First, we wait._

_What, here, with all the creepy bugs?_

_Yeah with all the creepy bugs you moron! And then we wait…_

_For what?_

_I'm getting to that! Anyway, the tree comes along, and we grab his hanging men! _

_There he is!_

_Go!_

_TRICK OR TREAT!_

The two smiled at the memory.

"He was a funny lil guy wasn't he Shock?

"Yes. Yes he was."

The window showed a clear view of the dead graveyard. Outside, walked a figure. Shock extended her head to get an even better view. "Hey, that's Jack!" she muttered, half in surprise, half in excitement. Lock looked puzzled. "What does _he _want?" he sneered. Shock shrugged and walked over to the metal cage. "Well, come on then!"

"Why do I have to come?"

"Look, you can't blame Jack! Come down and meet him."

"I'm not blaming him! Who said I was blaming him? I just don't want to talk."

"Whatever."

Shock grabbed Lock's tail and pulled him into the pulley cage. It lowered down, to where Jack was walking along the path. He looked troubled, and had his head down deep in thought. Upon seeing the cage descending down, he looked up at the two kids.

"Aahh, you thr-two. I was wondering if I may have a word."

"You just had several, goodbye." Answered Lock curtly. Shock slapped him.

"What do you want?" she asked, trying to keep her voice on an even level.

Jack cleared his throat nervously. "Well…umm…*ahem* in light of the circumstances, we-that is, me, Sally, and the mayor, were thinking of putting on…well…a funeral."

A funeral? Lock and Shock looked at each other in amazement. They had never been to a funeral before. Well, they had never been _invited _to a funeral. They had completely crashed the other ones. And they weren't allowed to go back to the town hall. Only under _strict supervision. _Which they didn't get, as nobody wanted to look after them. That's mainly the reason why they stayed alone in their tree house pulling random pranks on the townspeople. It was something to do.

"You'd get…" started Shock

"A funeral…" added Lock

Then they stood around awkwardly, as if they hadn't finished the sentence. "For Barrel?" asked Jack.

The two nodded. "We're…used to finishing each other's sentences." Explained Lock and Shock sadly. "Aaahh…" said jack, bending down. He put a hand on both their shoulders. "Well, the townspeople are here for you. You are halloweenfolk after all, and if you ever need support, well then, we'll be there to offer it. Are okay with the funeral?" he asked soothingly. The two nodded tearfully.

"When will it be?" Shock managed to choke out.

"In two days' time. If that is okay?" he asked. The two nodded again.

"Shouldn't you be busy making Halloween preparations?" Lock almost sneered. Jack's face remained blank. "I think Barrel is a little more important than that." And he waltzed off. The two stared at each other.

"I can't believe he just said all that. The town's hated us for years; Jack had his new spurt of enthusiasm when he last took over Christmas, why would he care more for Barrel? it doesn't make sense."

Lock shrugged. "Maybe it was just Barrel."

"Maybe, yeah."


	5. All in tatters

_Dear B _

_are you okay_

_We've been sad_

_Did you see your funeral_

Shock gave a squeal of irritation and threw the piece of paper to the ground. Why was she even bothering to try and calm herself? How in the world could she even begin to try? The funeral yesterday hadn't really helped her or Lock. Jack had tried hard, but unlike him the townspeople weren't as accepting. A pitiful amount of people went, and many of them were Jack's friends and collegues. Mainly Sally and the mayor and Behemoth. The two didn't really think that counted. Sally had probably been the most sympathetic, and had listened when they spoke about him up at the podium. They weren't very talented wordsmiths, and were very young at that, so had trouble fathoming more than the sentence 'Goodbye Barrel'.

Shock took back tears again as she then snapped the only working pencil in half. She was getting better at going about her day-to-day life without unprovoked crying, as was Lock, but anything else (even so much as his name said in her mind) turned her into a witchy waterfall.

Lock walked into the room. He looked neutral, which was borderline ecstatic considering how he usually was these days. "Four days." he said bluntly. Shock looked at him with deep hatred. "So? I know that." she snapped, hitting him on the arm. Lock didn't flinch.

"Four days is still a good time to be worrying about a death, just saying." he mumbled.

"You sounded more like you were trying to make me cry."

"You already are. I was trying to make you remember we're getting on ok."

"SHUT UP!" she squeaked. Lock looked disappointed.

"You really think I'd tease you like that?" he asked. Shock's eyes widened, and then she laughed. A cruel laugh. "What?" said Lock defensively.

"You've matured haven't you?" she muttered condescendingly. Lock looked speecheless. Then he tried stuttering.

"I didn't mean- I'm sorry...I..."

"Oh look he's apologising too! How grown-up! I don't even care if you're the baby of us now, go ahead, be immature, there's a vacancy for cry-baby in our trio now!"

"Don't say that!" he cried, making a lunge for her. They both viciously hit each other, and this time wasn't play fighting. It was proper rage and proper spite. Whatever kind of friendship they had now was completley in tatters.

"I'm leaving!" cried Lock. "I can't stay!"

"WHAT? YOU GET BACK HERE!" she yelled back at him. Lock made a grab for the door but Shock pulled him back by his tail. He bit her. She screamed. Lock took his chance and ran out of the door. He didn't have any belongings, no money or items or even weapons. He just went.


	6. Running off

"I left Shock today." Lock mumbled to nobody in particular. Barrel gave a sad 'oh. That's not good.' Lock sighed in reply.

"Yeah, she thinks I'm going crazy."

"You are though, kinda."

"Yeah, but I wasn't trying to kill her."

"That's proof you're going crazy."

Lock wasn't quite sure what to make of this imaginary Barrel talking back to him. Of course, he knew very well Barrel was gone, as he had trouble thinking about anything else, but he was relieved to talk to him. He didn't look in Barrel's direction in case he disappered.

"I'm not real." mumbled Barrel. Lock sighed.

"I know."

"Go back." suggested Barrel softly.

"NO!" yelled Lock, swivelling around to face Barrel. He was expecting him to be there, but there was only empty silence. There was nothing there. Just a rock. There wasn't much around this part, only a few dead trees and the eerie sky. Lock sat on the rock and pondered.

Number one: He had started to have hallucinations. That's not good.

Number two: Shock hated him.

Number three: Lock didn't want to apologise and even if he did she wouldn't accept it.

"Are you having trouble young lad?" said a deep voice behind him. Lock yelped and twisted his head to see who was talking. The hanging tree was looming over him, looking concerned. But he too seemed to be surprised to find Lock there. He did a little frightened leap of his own.

"I guess I'm having trouble...a...a...bit..." Lock replied slowly. The hanging tree still had a mixture of pity and suspicion on his face."Are you armed?" he asked. Lock shook his head.

"Nothing. Not even my mask."

"Oh." he mumbled. The hanging tree guessed that if he didn't have his mask then things were probably pretty serious.

"Well, why not go back with your friends?" he suggested, doing a little swing of his arm to keep the child upbeat.

"My friend? She hates me now." Lock answered in reply. He could feel his eyes watering up again , which annoyed him greatly because he was sick of crying.

"Things really _are_ desperate for you aren't they?" said the hanging tree after a while. He never would've admitted it, but Lock was glad for someone to talk to. He nodded and then smiled a little. "I'll be okay I guess, but everything's changed." he answered. The hanging tree smiled understandingly back. He began to walk away but turned.

"I don't suppose Jack or the Doctor can help you in any way?" he asked.

"They said they couldn't." replied Lock helplessly.

"Well, think about it. Think for yourself!" said the tree. That was his last parting remark as he walked away.

And it got Lock thinking. So the ever-so-slightly-evil doctor couldn't help him, and neither could the pumpkin king, but what did it matter? They didn't spend their time thinking up clever tricks. The pranksters did. The other citizens didn't spend their time plotting. The pranksters did. They would need to do something drastic, something genius...

That possibly involved waking the dead.


End file.
